Goldistanbul Sparkles

May 1, 2010byAnthony DeMarco

The Turkish jewelry industry is looking both inward and outward for a more prosperous future. Manufacturers see new markets within their home country of 77 million people, whose quality of life is improving rapidly. They know their geographic position at the intersection of Europe and Asia is an opportunity for increased business in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. And they believe their jewelry manufacturing and distribution operations, combined with Istanbul’s status as a major port city, will let them send their products throughout the world.

In February, nearly 400 jewelry manufacturers, equipment suppliers, and service providers, including some of Turkey’s largest producers of fine jewelry, presented an array of jewelry designs—which would have been equally at home in Minneapolis or Mumbai—at the Goldistanbul trade show, held Feb. 18–21 at the Tüyap Fair, Convention and Congress Center in Istanbul.

The show, to be held twice each year, attracted nearly 20,000 visitors, including almost 2,400 international buyers from 56 countries, show officials report. Preparations for the next show, scheduled for Sept. 2–5, are already under way.

The examples shown here represent some of the best from the four-day event.